Government responses to sexual violence have increased in the United Kingdom as a result of the relentless negative attention given to the way in which criminal justice agencies deal with such offences.
Although the number of offences reported to police has increased, the number of convictions has not.

This research concentrated on two particular services provided to victims of sexual violence: Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) and volunteer based Rape Crisis services.
Each service had shared concerns despite having a
different client base and experiencing different advantages and limitations.
For instance, there appeared to be some benefit in SARCs working in close partnership with other agencies and yet conversely, Rape Crisis benefitted from independent operation.
Given the diversity of the experiences of victims of sexual violence, the researchers recommend providing different yet complementary services to victims of sexual violence in the United Kingdom.